International Development Grant
CGIAR Wheat Initiative
Project Number: CA-3-D000513001
Status: Closed
Country/Region: Unknown
Regional Focus:
Maximum Contribution: $3,000,000.00
Start Date: March 18, 2014
End Date: December 31, 2016
Duration: 2.8 years
Project Description
This project supports the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) Research Program on Wheat to improve the nutrition of poor and vulnerable groups in developing countries. Given that over 55% of the world’s poor rely on wheat both for food and livelihoods wheat is growing in importance as a strategic crop for improving nutrition. Increasing wheat yields and thereby reducing the volatility of wheat prices is key to ensure that people have access to adequate nutrition. This project supports research in four key areas of wheat production: (1) fusarium head blight resistance a disease which reduces grain yields and reduces the quality and nutritional value of wheat; (2) durable resistance to stem stripe and leaf rusts which can infect wheat and cause loss of crops up to 90%; (3) improved photosynthesis partitioning and plant architecture to improve wheat yield; and (4) conservation agriculture which is a set of principles (minimum tillage surface residue and crop rotation) that builds farming methods that simultaneously boost productivity and reduce natural resource degradation.
Expected Results
The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) contribute to raising the annual rate of wheat yield growth globally to 1.6% and lessen the volatility of wheat prices; (2) adapt wheat production in regions susceptible to changing climates; (3) improve disease resistance; and (4) reduce childhood malnutrition in wheat-based farming areas targeting 42 million malnourished children who experience stunted growth.
Progress & Results Achieved
Results achieved by CGIAR through the support of the Government of Canada and other international donors as of 2015 include: (1) helped to more than double Ethiopia’s wheat production in a decade which increased from 1.6 million tons in 2003-2004 to around 3.9 million tons during 2013-2015 through improved disease resistant wheat varieties; (2) public and private partners in South Asia released the first wave of wheat varieties with higher concentrations of zinc to combat malnutrition which was adopted by 250 000 farmers in India; and (3) tested wheat lines in multiple environments that combined two key genes for resistance to Fusarium head blight fungal toxins in collaboration with scientists from Canada and with wheat lines from the Swift Current Research and Development Centre. This project is part of Canada’s commitment to climate change action in developing countries. CGIAR develops improved high-yield seed varieties that are resistant to disease and drought and better crop management practices to adapt to and reduce the effects of climate change. For example CGIAR has helped to improve wheat yield and farmers’ resilience to climate threats through instruction on crop practices and provision of improved seeds in areas of Ethiopia that were hit by wheat stem rust outbreak in 2013. Trials on conservation agriculture practices in wheat systems in Mexico and Ethiopia are assessing the impact of tillage practice residue management and crop rotation for evidence on sustainable intensification climate change adaptation and environmental stewardship.
Key Information
Executing Agency:
CGIAR
Reporting Organization:
Global Affairs Canada
Program:
YFMInternaAssistPartnershp&Programing Br
Last Modified:
September 19, 2025
Development Classifications
DAC Sector:
Aid Type: Contributions to specific-purpose programmes and funds managed by implementing partners
Collaboration: Bilateral
Finance Type: Aid grant excluding debt reorganisation
Selection Mechanism:
Department-Initiated